Fly fishing: It’s all about being better than a real bug | Houston Public Media

Greg Mason stands at the edge of a parking lot, his truck bed full of lures and poles, ready to fly fish on a patch of grass at Memorial Park.

“The first movement is to hire somebody like me who knows how to fly fish and really has a passion for it,” said Mason, laughing as he prepared an eight-foot-long pole.

“If you’ve ever had piano or taken music lessons, it’s that synchronized ticking,” Mason said as he mimicked throwing a dart to warm up his casting arm. “And you’re going from ten o’clock to two o’clock, and it’s loading and unloading.”

For Mason, a certified instructor with the Fly Fishing Federation, the sport isn’t just a novel way to catch fish. It’s also a way to experience nature on a one-to-one scale with its flora and fauna.

Although fly fishing originated in the freshwater rivers of the Catskill Mountains in the 1800s, it is now practiced on lakes, streams, and even oceans. Fly fishers use tiny, lightweight lures that tap the surface of the water, mimicking the movement of prey.

“You’re trying to out bug a bug or a fish or a crab, whatever, saltwater, freshwater,” Mason said. “And, so it’s really important your presentation, of projecting the fly out and then coming on the water and then and having a lifelike because you’re basically trying to be more realistic than the dragonfly or the mayfly sitting next to you.”

Mason recommends conventional tackle for those looking to catch fish quickly but sees fly fishing as a way to connect more deeply with nature.

“Fly fishing can be very Zen-like,” said Mason. “Because it’s really connecting with the line and the movement and everything around you, because it’s the wind, it’s the light, and it’s just… moving.”